


Ducklings and Children

by Licialys



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Developing Friendships, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-06 07:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16828069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Licialys/pseuds/Licialys
Summary: Harry is a lonely child who never had any friends.Draco is a lonely child who never could satisfy his parents.This is the story of how they enter Nicolas Flamel Middle School.





	1. Ducklings

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a work in progress. It will probably be quite long and in multiple parts.  
> This part will mostly be introductory to Harry and Draco's later relationship, develop Harry's and Draco's relationships to others.  
> The chapters will alternate between written chapters and ART for the chapter.  
> I will add tags and characters as I continue writing.  
> Hope you enjoy it <3

_Prologue_

Draco didn’t like sand. All the other kids at the park looked like they enjoyed playing with the yellowish dust, while nothing would ever convince him to touch it. He had heard Mother say it was filthy and no Malfoy should play with filthy things.

So there he was, sitting on a bench, watching the other kids play in the sand. They were all approximately his age, but he didn’t know any of them. His Nanny Debby would take him to this park quite often because it was big and not far from home. His Nanny Debby was getting old, he had heard Father say, so she couldn’t walk him to the park on the other side of the neighborhood, where the very big trees were. Instead, they were now coming to this small park.

Draco liked it anyway. Even if he didn’t like sand. He liked that there was a pond and ducks in the pond. He liked to watch them as they silently slid on the water in a crocodile line. In the past few months he had seen the baby ducks hatch and then learn how to swim. They were of slightly different colors, but his favorite one was one almost completely black duck, with a little tuft of white feathers on his collar, who was always trying to get away for the mother duck.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go play, Draco?”

Draco looked at Nanny Debby curiously. She never insisted on him playing with the other kids. Everyday, they would come to the park, Draco would go say hello to his duck friends, and then they would sit on the bench, Draco watching the other kids, Nanny Debby knitting. Draco would always imagine all the adventures he could have with the other kids if he had the courage to go talk to them. But Mother would not agree. She said that he could not mingle with people not worthy of him. And when he had asked how he could know if the other kids at the park were worthy, she had simply stated “No kid you meet at the park is good enough for your attention, Draco.”

“I am too old to play in the sand, Nanny Debby”, the young boy said petulantly.

“Draco, dear”, Nanny Debby began, with a small smile on her face, “Six years old is nowhere near too old to play in the sand. As long as you are careful not to put sand everywhere inside your clothes, and I know you are, everything will be alright.”

Draco was really not convinced. He’d rather stay on his bench like he always did. As he continued to observe the other children playing, something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. It was just another kid, who seemed to be approximately the same age as Draco. He was wearing clothes far too big for his small size. His old grey t-shirt was hanging loose around his shoulders and the small sleeves were reaching his elbows. It was clear that without his belt, the jeans he was wearing would never hang on his narrow hips. His skin was a light brown that reminded Draco of their gardener, Fawad. He had some really black and really messy hair, that were standing all over his head in disarray. The small round glasses that were perched on his nose had obviously been broken multiple times and were fixed with some sellotape. The boy looked hesitant, his body almost trembling at the sight of the other children playing in the sand. Draco could only see him from his left profile but this weird child intrigued him.

As if he had felt Draco’s look, the black haired boy suddenly turned around and Draco gave him a startled look. The other boy had big emerald eyes, and the fact that they were hidden behind his glasses didn’t prevent Draco from noticing the fear in them, as if Draco was going to beat him up or something. He also had a small red scar on his forehead that resembled a lightning bolt. Trying to remember his manners, Draco decided to give the boy a small smile and a nod, like his father had told him to do with people he didn’t know, but could be good associates. Draco didn’t really know what associates were, but when the green eyed boy smiled widely at him, he felt pride at how he had managed the situation.

As Draco was set on proving to Nanny Debby that he was not a child anymore, he addressed the boy with the clearest pronunciation he could mutter and asked, “Would you care to join us on this bench?”

The boy oppened his green eyes wide open, as if he couldn’t believe someone would talk to him, before he quickly nodded. He sat next to Draco but not too close. As the other boy wasn’t saying anything, Draco began to panic. Of course, Draco had already made friends before. But they were the kids of his parents friends, and they had been properly introduced. Every other Wednesday, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were invited to his house to play some games, and he had been ice-skating with Pansy Parkinson last winter. However, all these activities had been organized by their parents, hoping for all of their kids to get to know each other, knowing they were all going to get the same education. Draco had never made friends with strangers. He didn’t know how to begin a conversation and the silence that settled between them seemed too intense to be broken.

Fortunately, Draco was not alone in the situation. He looked expectantly at his Nanny Debby, raised his eyebrows, trying to convey the fact that he needed her help at befriending the outsider. She smiled knowingly and said, “May I ask what your name is, young man?”

Once again the boy looked surprised at being addressed directly. “I’m Harry”, he said, looking down and smiling shyly. He turned to Draco and asked, “What about you?”

“My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy, and she is my Nanny Debby.”

“Pleased to meet you, Harry. I’m Deborah Jacob. But if you want, you can call me Nanny Debby, like Draco does.”

“Pleased to meet you”, Harry parroted, while he smiled happily, his eyes crinkling.

“Do you come to this park often, Harry?”, Nanny Debby asked. Then she looked around, apparently looking for something. “Where are your parents?”

Harry looked panicked for a second but he quickly said, “They’re not here. My aunt and my uncle are not far, though. They’re in the house over there”, he said, pointing at a small brick house next to the nearest park entrance. “They’re visiting my Aunt Marge but she has dogs and her dogs don’t like me very much.” Harry suddenly covered his mouth with his hand, as if he had said too much. “I mean, it’s not their fault, they just don’t like my scent.”

“That’s okay, Harry”, Nanny Debby said. “Now that you’re here, maybe you want to explore the park. Draco, maybe you could give Harry a look around?”

At the thought of showing his beloved duck to his almost new friend, Draco perked up. Surely, Harry didn’t count as an unworthy person, as Mother described. He had never been to the park before, and he had definitely not played in the sand. So this was okay. He could do this, he could make a friend, and prove to everyone he was not a baby anymore. “Yes. Can we go to the pond?”, he said hopefully. As his Nanny Debby smiled and nodded, he took Harry’s hand, “Come on Harry, you’ll love it, I’m sure.”

After all of the thirty seconds it took them to reach the pond, Draco started to introduce Harry to his duck friends. “This is the Mama duck, she makes sure that all the baby ducks are growing nicely. She gives them food that she has already kind of eaten. I think it’s a bit disgusting but Nanny Debby says that the baby ducks can’t feed themselves because they’re too small. Like baby humans when they’re small. But the baby ducks won’t be babies anymore soon. Because they’re adults when they’re six months old.”

Harry listened to him carefully, hanging on Draco’s every word. “Why is this one black, and the other aren’t?”, he asked curiously.

“Oh, you’re talking about Henry.”

“Henry?”

“Yes, I named him Henry because he looks like a portrait of King Henry that I have in my house. You know with the stuff on his collar being white and all.”

“You named the duck? Is it your duck?”, Harry asked, looking puzzled.

“No, but he’s my friend. I come to see him almost everyday, and when he wants to, I pet him. Nanny Debby says he’s a Pomeranian duck,” Draco said proudly, happy he managed to say the name correctly. “It’s a special species.”

“But why is he the only black duck?”, Harry asked again, focused on this particular mystery.

“The other ducks are Mallard ducks. They’re easy to recognize because they have a very green head. It’s almost the same color as your eyes”, Draco realized as he looked directly as Harry’s eyes. “But Henry is not the same color, because they’re not from the same species.”

“So she’s not his Mama?”, Harry asked pointing at the mother duck.

“Not really”, Draco answered. “But Henry is kind of adopted, because the Mama duck takes care of him. And I take care of him too, don’t worry for him.”

“But where are his parents?”, Harry asked anxiously.

Draco was beginning to feel stressed because he didn’t really know the answer. “I don’t know, they’re probably missing, or maybe they’re dead.”

At his words, Harry broke into tears. Draco sat there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. He tried to remember what Nanny Debby would do if he was the one crying. He took Harry’s hand in his small hand and said, “What’s wrong?”

Harry took a deep breath, visibly trying to stop his tears. He struggled for a bit, but when he managed to get calmer, he looked back at Draco, his eyes still wet and almost whispered, “I’m sad for Henry.”

“Because his parents are dead?”, Draco asked. Once again, Harry clearly struggled not to burst into tears but he nodded. “But Henry is okay. Look at him”, he said, squeezing Harry’s hand. “He’s got brothers and sisters and a Mama, so it’s all okay for him. Also, I’m his friend and I come to see him often so he’s happy.”

Harry rubbed his nose and dried his tears with the sleeves of his overlarge tee-shirt. He was beginning to smile again, and that made Draco happy. He had handled the situation like an adult!

“Can you be my friend too?”, Harry asked him with eager eyes. “I’ve never had a friend, before.”

That declaration made Draco a bit sad. Harry seemed like an okay person, and it was weird that nobody would want to be friends with him. “Yeah, I can be your friend. I never had a friend that I met at the park”, Draco said, smiling. Harry smiled back and their friendship was sealed.

They then spent the afternoon talking about the ducks. Draco told Harry all about the hatching and the nesting. Draco had been observing the ducks habits for at least the past three months. He had seen the fluffy feathers the baby ducks had when they were only just born and the way they had learned how to swim, all together or in lines. Harry seemed interrested in everything Draco was explaining, asking questions about every little detail. At some point, after it had been a while since they had stopped moving, they saw Henry coming towards them. Harry froze, grabbing Draco’s hand, probably for moral support. Draco smiled at Harry and streched his arm in Henry’s direction. The small black duck slowed down when he approached Draco’s hand. But after a few seconds, he rubbed his head on the small blond boy’s fingers. Draco began stroking him slowly, feeling the dry feather of his neck, then slowly switched to Henry’s back feathers. Some of them were soaked with the pond’s water, but Draco didn’t care because Nanny Debby always had some tissues in her purse. Henry quacked happily and Harry’s echoing laugh made Draco smile even wider.

“Come on, Harry, touch him. I promise Henry won’t bite you. He makes a really weird noise before he does, I’ll tell you”, Draco said. Seeing Harry was not moving, he smiled and say calmly, “Don’t worry. Touch him. I promise I’ll protect you.”

Harry slowly approached Draco, his eyes fixed on Henry. When his shoulder touched his, Draco continued to encourage him, “That’s good. Now, stretch your hand, just like I did and Henry will come to you.” As soon as Harry tried to guide his left hand near Draco’s, Henry turned his head towards him. “Don’t worry, Henry. This is Harry. He’s my friend. He would like to pet you. Can he pet you?”, Draco asked soothingly. He really hoped that Henry would go to Harry’s hand, because his new friend seemed to really like Henry. “You can talk to him, if you want”, he whispered to Harry.

Harry hesitated only for a few seconds. “Hello Henry”, he said. The small duck kept on looking insistently at Harry, but the boy didn’t lose his courage. “You look really pretty. And I really would like to touch you... Please.” Harry said the last word with such a longing voice that Draco almost pushed Henry is Harry’s direction. Fortunately he didn’t need to, as Henry decided to explore the new friendship that had been offered to him. “It’s so soft!”, Harry exclaimed when his fingers reached Henry’s head feathers.

While Harry continued to pet Henry, Draco told him about the other different species of duck that existed, and that you shouldn’t mistake them for swans even though baby swans and baby ducks looked the same. When Henry got tired of being touched, he just went away and joined his duck brothers and sisters.

“You’re not sad anymore, right?”, Draco asked Harry.

The other boy looked hesitant, but he shook his head. “I’m just a little sad that I’m never going to be able to see Henry again.”

Draco stood straight, wondering why Harry would never see the duck again. “Why can’t you? You can always come to the park. Nanny Debby says you shouldn’t come at night, but it’ll also be open tomorrow. And I’ll be there tomorrow too. You can come back and we can pet Henry again. And we can talk. And we can play in the sand if you really want. I don’t like sand, but I could just be next to you while you play or something”, Draco babbled. He couldn’t stop speaking, thinking of all the things he and Harry could do together. They might even become best friends. Pansy had a best friend, and she said that best friends never stop being friends. “We could be best friends!”, Draco suddenly declared.

“You want to be my best friend?”, Harry asked with a big smile on his face.

“Yes! I had a lot of fun playing with you today.”

“My cousin Duddley has a best friend. They always play together. And they exchange games and toys.”

“We could do that!”, Draco happily said. “We can be best friends and then we’ll stay friends forever. And I can give you this”, Draco added, taking a small bundle of thread out of his pocket. “I bought it the other day with Nanny Debby. It’s Henry!” It was in fact a knitted ball that looked strangely like a duck. It could have been a chicken or another bird, but Draco knew it was a duck. For him, it was Henry. And if it cheered Harry up to have this knitted Henry, then Draco could lend it to him.

“I’ve never had a gift before”, Harry said smiling, and Draco didn’t if the other boy was going to cry but he sure looked like it. “Thank you, Draco.”

“You’re welcome. But you didn’t say why you can’t see Henry again.”

“Well, I came here with my Aunt and my Uncle, because they’re visiting my Aunt Marge. They usually leave me with Mrs Figg. Mrs Figg is our neighbour. She’s got lots of cats. But she was at the hospital today. So they had to take me with them. But I don’t think I’ll come back. They won’t take me with them again”, Harry finished sadly.

At those words, Draco felt tears gather in his eyes. He had made a friend, a best friend, and he was going to be taken away from him so soon? Seeing his distress, Harry took gently took Draco’s hand, “But you’ll still be my best friend, right? Even if I don’t live nearby?”

“Yeah. I could always come see you. I can ask our chauffeur to drive me to your house. We could play in your room.”

“I don’t know…”, Harry said with sad eyes. “But maybe, we could try to…”

“BOY!”

Harry turned around at the cry, looking panicked. The shout had got out of a big, beefy man with a large purple face. He had thick dark hair, a bushy black moustache and Draco couldn’t really see his neck. He was wearing khaki dress pants and a checkered shirt. He looked really angry, his blue eyes shining madly. He was approaching them quickly, walking with a rolling gait. Draco could not deny that the man scared him.

“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for ten minutes, and I had specifically told you to not move from the porch.”

“I’m sorry Uncle Vernon,” Harry said, looking down at his shoes.

“I don’t care if you’re sorry or not. Dudley is hungry and we were waiting for you. Now come, quickly, or else…”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon”, Harry answered. This Vernon sir seemed to finally notice Draco and he glared at him before he turned back and quickly went away in the direction of the house Harry had showed him before.

“I’m sorry, Draco”, Harry said sadly. “I hope we’ll see each other soon.”

“We’re best friends, then?”, Draco asked, hopefully.

“Boy! Don’t make me come get you”, Harry’s uncle shouted.

Harry smiled at Draco and said, “Yes, best friends.” Then, he followed his uncle, and turned around one last time to wave at Draco. Then he was gone.

Draco felt both sad and hopeful. As he slowly returned to the bench where Nanny Debby was still sitting, he thought about all the things they could do next time Harry would come to the park. They could play robber and policeman, or they could even go on the big slide in the park three blocks away.

“Where did young Harry go?”, Nanny Debby asked as Draco sat next to her.

“His uncle came and fetched him. Harry’s my best friend now, Nanny Debby.”

“That’s delightful, my dear. Let’s hope we see more of him soon, then”, Nanny Debby said, not looking up from her knitting.

Draco looked longingly at the door from which Harry had exited. “Yes, let’s hope so.”

  



	2. [ART] of Ducklings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art for the Chapter "Duckings".


	3. Puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Harry's first day at Nicolas Flamel Middle School.

When Harry got to the bus stop, he already felt anxious. He had tried to convince himself that this day would go well but at the moment he couldn’t remember all the reasons why it was going to be okay. His mind was focused on the past, on everything that had never gone well in school, on the friends he’d never made, on the classes he had always thought he had been only average at. 

The sound of the bus doors opening forced him to stop sulking. The bus was there, and the bus driver was looking at him expectantly. His big brown eyes were pinned on him, his lips curling and his eyebrows were raised. “Are you getting in, boy? I don’t have all day.”

“A-Are you stopping at Nicolas Flamel Middle school?”, he stuttered. 

“Yep. Come on in, boy”, the driver said insistently. 

Harry barely had time to get inside the bus before the doors closed behind him. When he validated his travel card, the small bipping sound reassured him. “First day of school I guess?”, the drivers asked. When the large man addressed him, Harry realized then that he had not moved further inside the bus. He’d gripped one of the metallic poles so he wouldn’t fall, and now that the bus was moving, he was holding on for dear life. 

Harry had very rarely taken the bus in the first eleven years of his life. When Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would go out, they would either leave him with Mrs Figg or lock him up in his cupboard. And of course they had never given him money to take the bus on his own. He knew nobody anyway, who would he visit? He had no family, except for his Uncle, his Aunt and his cousin Dudley. And what kind of family that was. 

“Yes, it’s my first day at Middle school today”, Harry answered the bus driver quietly. 

“You’re gonna be okay, kid. School is fun. Got a chance to learn things. When you’re gonna be old like me, it’ll be too late.” Harry looked at the driver more intently. He had dark rings under his eyes, and wrinkles around his mouth and at the side of his eyes. He didn’t look too old to Harry, but he looked really tired. He had a big moustache where a few white hairs were mingled with the dark hairs and his brown skin was greying in some places. “Take all you can from education, kid. Go to school, get yourself a good diploma and you’ll do whatever you want in life.”

“Okay”, Harry said carefully. He wasn’t sure he understood when exactly he could get a diploma or what kind of classes he wanted to take. First, he had yet to get to school. He looked out the window, trying to read the bus stops’ names. He knew he had to stop at “Nicolas Flamel Square”, but he didn’t know if it was far or not. 

“Don’t worry, kid”, the driver said with a smile, “go sit and I’ll tell you when it’s time for you to get off.”

Harry thanked him and went ahead to find a place to sit in the bus. He settled next to an old lady, and he spent the rest of the ride observing the streets, the cars and the people. Everybody looked like they were in a hurry. Most of them were dressed very smartly, holding briefcases and such. Maybe one day, Harry would be part of them, wearing suits and having a job and looking like an adult. 

“Kid!” Harry got out of his daydream and he looked at the driver. “It’s your stop”, he smiled. “Have a nice first day at school.” Harry hurried out of the bus, thanking the bus driver quickly, trying not to miss the step between the bus and the pavement. 

In front of him stood a big building with four stories. It was quite wide, with very high windows. On the second and third stories, pillars were giving a majestic look to the sunflower yellow painted walls. On the pediment, you could read in golden letters “Nicolas Flamel Middle School”. Harry felt his anxiety give place to excitement. This was a new school, where nobody knew him : it could be a new beginning, a chance at getting friends. He was going to put all of his energy in not screwing this up, and it would work. He hoped. 

* * *

It seemed Harry might have miscalculated the time he needed to reach school because no other kid was there. It was half past eight according to the clock next to the bus stop, and Harry was beginning to feel stressed out. Maybe he had the day wrong? But today was definitely September 1st, and he definitely remembered the content of the very first letter he had received. 

At first, Uncle Vernon didn’t want to give it to him, but when he had seen that it was only a list of classes and recommendations for the start of the school year he had just rolled the letter into a ball and thrown it on the ground, not even giving a look at his nephew. Harry had picked it up and then slowly and carefully unfolded it. He remembered it very clearly :

_ Dear Mister Potter,  _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Nicolas Flamel Middle School. Classes will begin on September 1st and you will be expected to arrive at 9 a.m. sharp.  _

_ Please find enclosed the list of classes that will be available, as well as the list of school supplies that we recommend you buy before school starts.  _

_ Should you have any further questions, please call or send an e-mail to the administration services.  _

_ Best regards,  _

_ Minerva McGonagall _

_ Nicolas Flamel Middle School’s Headmistress _

At first, he could not believe his eyes. He had thought that he was going to go to the public school in the same neighborhood where his Uncle and Aunt lived. But Mrs Burbage, one of his primary school teachers had sent a letter to Nicolas Flamel, saying that Harry has a high potential and could thrive in a better school. Mrs. Burbage had been the first teacher who had really listened to Harry, encouraging him to do his best and telling him he could have a very bright future. The school’s Headmistress had obviously been convinced too, since Harry was now waiting in front on the high mahogany double doors. 

“Ronald Weasley! Do not run, young man !”

As Harry turned towards the sounds of the woman shouting, someone bumped into him. Startled, the trouble maker, fell at Harry’s feet. It was a young red haired boy, with blue eyes, lots of freckles and a big smile on his face. 

“I’m sorry!”, the boy said, as Harry held his hand to him. “Thanks!”, he added when he got up again and dusted his jacket and trousers. “I’m Ron, by the way”. 

“I’m Harry”, Harry answered with a small smile. 

“Ron, honey, are you okay?”, said the woman Harry had heard shouting earlier. She was rather small, looked middle-aged and she had a round face and fiery red hair, the same color as Ron. She was probably his mother, Harry deducted. While she closely inspected Ron’s face, Harry noticed a small girl behind Ron’s mum. She must be no older than 10, with the same hair as her mother and brother. When she saw Harry looking at her, she smiled shily, blushed and looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry, young man. Ron is quite a clumsy child”, Ron’s mum said.

“Muuum!”, the boy whined. 

“And what’s your name?”, she asked Harry, unconcerned by her son complaining. 

“Hm, my name is Harry, ma’am.”

“Well, Harry, I guess it’s your first day at Nicolas Flamel too?”, she asked, smiling widely at him.

“Hum, yes, actually.”

“I thought so. Today is the first day of school only for First Years. Ron’s got older brothers but all of them begin on Monday. I have to take Ginny to her primary school, so I have to leave Ron here on his own. I’m glad he won’t be waiting by himself. Harry, it was a pleasure meeting you, I hope you and Ron make good friends.” And on these wise words she just took her daughter’s hand, turned around and went away. 

“I’m not a kid anymore, mum! I can make friends on my own!”, Ron half shouted at her back. “I mean honestly”, he muttered, “what do I look like now?” Harry laughed at Ron’s complaining and the other boy looked his way with a smile on his face.

“Do you live nearby?”, Harry asked, feeling his anxiety fly away at the sight of a friendly face.

“Not really. But not that far either. It’s a ten minutes car ride, but my mum doesn’t have a car and my dad goes to work really early, so he can’t take us. It took us thirty minutes to get here. But from Monday on, I’ll come with my brothers, so it’ll be okay. Do you live far?”

“Hum, quite. I mean, I need to take a bus and it takes forty minutes to get here.”

“Oh, are you one of the scholarships students then?”, Ron asked, nonplussed. 

“Yes, I am,” Harry said. He was lucky he was, or else Uncle Vernon would have never agreed to pay for this school and he wouldn’t have been able to attend Nicolas Flamel. “What about you?”

“Me too. I mean, it’s not a state scholarship, it’s from my Dad’s work. But yeah, me too.”

The conversation ended and Harry had no idea what to say anymore. He never had had a friend before. Except for the boy he had met as a very small kid. But he barely remembered him, it was so long ago. He began panicking again, trying to think about what Dudley and his friends always talked about. But fortunately, Ron didn’t let the silence last long. 

“Do you play football?”, the red haired boy asked. 

“No, sorry. I’ve never played before.” Of course, Harry knew of football. Who didn’t? But he had never been invited to play by the other kids at school. And as he had no money of his own, he couldn’t have bought a ball. Not that he would have had anybody to play with anyway. He looked back at Ron, hoping his lack of experience wouldn’t make him look lesser to his new acquired friend.

“Well, do you want to learn?”, Ron asked enthusiastically. “There’s a park just next to my house and I often go there to play with my brothers. We could go sometime.”

“Why not?”, Harry answered and Ron smiled. 

While they had been talking, kids and their parents had slowly begun to gather in front of the school’s doors. Harry could see that most of them knew each other, or so it seemed as small groups of children had already formed. 

On the outskirts of the group stood a black girl with bushy hair, surrounded by her parents. She was approximately the same height as Harry and she stood very straight. The girl was wearing a navy blue pleated skirt, a neatly ironed white shirt and a light grey cardigan. Her mother was behind her, holding her shoulders while her father was crouching down in front of her, adressing her softly. She looked nervous and her brown eyes were alternating between her father’s eyes and the other students. She reminded Harry of their neighbour’s puppy at Privet Drive. Half excited and half terrified. Her gaze met Harry’s and he looked down, surprised and a little bit ashamed he had been caught staring at her. 

“I hope we end up in the same class”, Ron said, pulling Harry’s gaze back up to his new friend’s face. Harry smiled and silently nodded. He didn’t know Ron that much yet, but the other boy’s enthusiasm was a relief. It was chasing Harry’s bad mood away, making him hope for the best for the years to come. 

“Me too”, he simply answered. 

With creaking noise, the school’s doors finally opened, pushed by a middle-aged woman with greying hair strictly tied back. She was quite tall and her charcoal grey suit gave her a very serious, almost frightening, look. Her lips were slightly pursed, but she didn’t look displeased, not really. “Good morning everyone,” she said with a very clear voice. “My name is Minerva McGonagall and I will be your new Headmistress. I am very pleased to welcome you here at Nicolas Flamel Middle School. I am inviting all of you to say your goodbyes to your parents for the day and follow me. Parents, if you have any questions in the next few days, please contact me via e-mail or phone, or I’ll see you at the next parent-teacher meeting that’s to be held on the 15th of September.”

Turning back, and going through the doors, she left without another word. Kids started saying their goodbyes, and Ron grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him toward the school entrance. “Come on, Harry, the sooner we get there, the sooner we know if we’re in the same class.” 

Letting Ron lead the way, Harry barely had time to observe the other kids entering the school. However, something caught his eye, but when he turned back trying to catch it again, he couldn’t see what it had been. Shrugging, he focused on following Ron and soon forgot the déjà-vu impression he had had for a moment. 

* * *

Most of the students were standing in front of the Headmistress. There were approximately forty of them, chatting, laughing, excited at the prospect of beginning their classes. They had only just entered the high doors, stepping into a large cobbled schoolyard. There, there were trees and a path that seemed to lead to a large grass area. McGonagall cleared her throat and rapidly, everyone stopped talking, focusing on their new Headmistress. 

“First of all, I would like to, once again, welcome you at Nicolas Flamel Middle School. I sure hope that the next three years that you will spend here will help you acquire the methods and knowledge you’ll need to enter the High School of your choice. No matter what Elementary School you are from, this school will treat each and everyone one of you as equals. As it has happeared to be needed being mentioned in the previous years, I will tolerate no bullying. Please be aware that there are some part of the school that are closed off, due to ongoing renovations. Hence, please stay away from the East Wing of the school altogether.” McGonagall was speaking continuously, so much so that Harry felt overwhelmed by all the information. However, when he heard the following words, he listened carefully. “Some of you are Scholarship Students, and as such, you have been told you’ll be helped financially regarding your school supplies, don’t forget to come by my office before you leave. And without further ado, I’ll call all of you into your classes.” 

Harry almost let out a cry of relief, so glad he was that the supplies were provided by the school. Else, he didn’t know how he would have managed. During the years of Elementary school, he had managed to nick some of Dudley’s notebooks and pens, but this year, Uncle Vernon had made make special exercise books and fountain pens for his son, with his name written on it and everything. Harry couldn’t have stolen any of it discreetly. 

He quickly realised his worrying had kept him from listening to the names of students that theMcGonagall was calling. There were already a few of them standing on the right side of the Headmistress, waiting for the rest of their class to be named. “Hermione Granger,” McGonagall said loudly. The black girl that Harry had met eyes with earlier got out of the crowd and joined her classmates. “Neville Longtbottom,” a small blond kid followed, as McGonagall continued calling names. Harry couldn’t help but crossing his fingers he would at least be in the same class as Ron. “Padma Patil,” she continued. Harry could feel his heart beat faster, wondering if he’d be called. 

“Harry Potter”, Headmistress McGonagall called. Harry didn’t move at first, but at the Headmistress insistent look, he finally left his spot in the group of students that hadn’t been called and he walked towards his future classmates. As soon as he arrived next to them, he turned around and looked right back at Ron. Ron was smiling at him, but he looked quite serious still. When Dean Thomas got called, Harry felt more and more nervous. “And the last one for Class 1, Ron Weasley.” 

Harry couldn’t help but chear and, not caring if people were looking at him, he hugged Ron when he joined him. 

“The rest of you will belong to class 2, but I’ll still call your names”, McGonagall said. While McGonagall called the other names, Harry and Ron were smiling at each other in a silly way. Harry enjoyed to simply feel like he belonged. This was the very first time that his experience at school would not be tarnished by Dudley’s and his friend’s slurs. He could be himself and not spend all his time hiding from their bullying. 

“Draco Malfoy”, Harry heard McGonagall say. Harry turned his head around at the name. Draco was a weird name wasn’t it? Not very common. Why did he have the feeling he knew that name?

“Ron, do you know him?”, Harry asked.

“Who? Draco Malfoy?” Harry nodded. “Well, kind of and not really. I mean, he’s the son of Lucius Malfoy, so yeah.”

“Lucius Malfoy?”

“Yeah, sorry, I guess I know him ‘cause he’s the CEO of my dad’s company. Basically he’s a very rich guy. So Draco is that very rich guy’s son. I never met him before so you can’t say I really know him. More like I know  _ of _ him.”

This didn’t make sense. Harry didn’t know Ron’s dad or the company that he worked at. Maybe he had heard the name on TV while Uncle Vernon had watched the news.

“Now that you are all sorted, I will show you to your classrooms”, McGonagall said. 

They all followed her on the path that Harry had seen when entering the schoolyard. They walked along the building and turned at the first corner. That’s when Harry realized that the building was way bigger than he had thought at first. There was a huge park inside the school grounds, with what looked like a football field and some half sized bleachers. Ron pulled Harry’s hand and Harry reluctantly took his eyes away from the park, and they entered their classroom together. Harry couldn’t wait to explore his new school. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any comments, preferences or ideas about the drawing concerning this chapter, I'm open to suggestions <3


	4. [ART] of Puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron just fell in front of Harry but Harry helps him get up.  
> The making of a new friendship ?


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